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Tonawanda manufacturer Hebeler buys Buflovak

Buflovak, which operates a facility on East Ferry Street, is being sold to Hebeler Corp., a Town of Tonawanda-based manufacturer.

Still to be determined is exactly how many of Buflovak’s 53 employees will join Hebeler, said Mike Bieger, president and CEO of Buflovak, and a part owner.

“There’s going to be a great number of people who will go over” to Hebeler, Bieger said, adding that Hebeler will need Buflovak employees’ expertise for the product lines Hebeler is acquiring.

Buflovak’s facility at 750 East Ferry St. will no longer operate when the deal is completed, Bieger said. The plant is expected to close in late September.

Buflovak designs and makes process equipment for chemicals, food products, pharmaceutical products and by-product recovery. Hebeler, which has a plant on Military Road,

Hebeler initiated the deal, Bieger said. “They basically sought us out. They were looking to diversify and grow, and grow through acquisition.”

And Buflovak’s owners determined the deal was a good fit for Buflovak, Bieger said. “I truly believe they can help us grow it.”

A history posted on Buflovak’s website said the company traces its origins to two small manufacturing companies in Buffalo.

In 1902, the David Bell Engineering Works and the Buffalo Foundry Co. merged to create the Buffalo Foundry and Machine Co. Later, the Buflovak trade name was coined to cover the company’s vacuum process equipment, as an abbreviation for Buffalo Vacuum Equipment, according to the history.

email: mglynn@buffnews.com

Matt Glynn– Matt Glynn has been a business reporter with The Buffalo News since 2000. He is a native of Youngstown and lives in Buffalo.